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Women's History Month

How One Woman Excelled in Athletics, Journalism, Venture Capital—and Aviation

Aviation executive Bonny Simi describes her fascinating journey as an airline pilot, Olympic athlete, TV reporter, venture capitalist, and executive at Joby Aviation.

Thom Patterson
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Key Takeaways:

  • Bonny Simi's career is marked by extraordinary success across four diverse and challenging fields: Olympic athletics, TV journalism, venture capital, and aviation (as an airline pilot and executive at Joby Aviation).
  • Her passion for aviation, sparked in childhood, was nurtured by crucial mentorship, ultimately leading her back to the cockpit and a mission to make pilot careers more accessible.
  • At Joby Aviation, Simi is actively working to address barriers to aviation careers, particularly financial accessibility, by developing a structured flight school with scholarship opportunities to create a diverse pipeline of eVTOL pilots.
  • Joby's future eVTOL operations aim to offer pilots a more balanced lifestyle with local routes and no overnight layovers, making the profession more attractive and sustainable for those raising families.
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Editor’s Note: This article is part of a month-long series to mark Women’s History Month: March 1: Pioneers of Women’s Aviation | March 2: Carole Hopson | March 4: Martha King | March 8: Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance | March 11: The Air Race Classic | March 15: Sisters of the Skies | March 18: Women in Aviation Conference | March 22: Bonny Simi of Joby Aviation | March 29: The first Graduating Class of Air Force Female Pilots | March 31: Top Female Difference Makers in Aviation

At first, the career path of Joby Aviation executive Bonny Simi may be hard to wrap your head around.

Thom Patterson

Thom is a former senior editor for FLYING. Previously, his freelance reporting appeared in aviation industry magazines. Thom also spent three decades as a TV and digital journalist at CNN’s bureaus in Washington and Atlanta, eventually specializing in aviation. He has reported from air shows in Oshkosh, Farnborough and Paris. Follow Thom on Twitter @thompatterson.

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